This bill expands existing shield law protections for providers of legally protected health activities, which include reproductive health care and gender-affirming care. It prohibits adverse insurance actions against health care providers related to professional liability insurance, and broadens protections against warrant requirements as well as compliance with subpoenas and out-of-state inquiries. It also gives the Attorney General additional powers to enforce the law.

This bill expands New York’s earlier shield laws, adding new protections individuals who provide or receive legally protected health activity, including reproductive health care and gender-affirming care, from criminal and civil liability or professional sanctions imposed by out-of-state jurisdictions, as well as adding new protections for attorneys involved in supporting access to that care. The bill also expanded other areas of the shield law.

The FY2026 enacted state budget includes a $34.2 billion investment in Medicaid to maintain coverage and services in the state and invest in programs aimed at expanding access. Moreover, the budget codifies federal emergency care, including emergency abortion care, protections into state law. It also provides funding for providers to help cover the cost of abortion services, invests in abortion training programs, and provides funding for the modernization of reproductive healthcare facilities.

This bill updates the state’s shield law to allow health care providers to omit their names on prescriptions for medication abortions and instead use the names of their medical practices.

Passed by New York voters in 2024, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) amends the New York Constitution. The expanded ERA, as passed by the legislature and approved by voters, prohibits discrimination based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed, religion, and sex, which includes sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes. The ERA explicitly includes protections for “reproductive healthcare and autonomy” and “pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes,” constitutionally protecting reproductive freedoms.